Dein erstes Forum » when the Islanders routed the Penguins 9-3 at Nassau

NEW YORK -- There may not be a team in the NHL that needs a win more than the New York Islanders. A desperate Islanders team is going to meet an angry but wounded opponent Friday night, when the Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Barclays Center for the second meeting this season between the Metropolitan Division rivals.The Islanders (5-8-3), who reached the second round of the playoffs last spring for the first time since 1993, will enter Friday with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. New York has lost three straight (0-2-1) and six of seven (1-3-3) this month.In the Islanders most recent game, a 4-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, a rapidly emptying crowd of 12,498 chanted for the firing of head coach Jack Capuano, who appeared to be making a case to stay by using some variation of its on me three times during his postgame press conference.I have to find the right combinations for us to find some offense, said Capuano, whose team is 2-8-3 when scoring three goals or fewer. Weve been able to do it in the past. I have faith in myself and our coaching staff to figure it out. But we have to find a way to get some offense.Capuano tinkered with the top line during practice Thursday, when center and captain John Tavares was flanked by Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey. Tavares has a team-high five goals this season while Strome and Bailey have scored twice apiece.The new-look Islanders will get quite a challenge Friday against the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins (10-4-2), who suffered their worst loss in almost six years in falling to the Washington Capitals, 7-1, on Wednesday.We were embarrassed out there tonight, all of us, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday night. Its humbling when you go through it. My hope is that we learn from it and make sure it doesnt happen again.Pittsburgh last lost by at least six goals on Feb. 2, 2011, when the Islanders routed the Penguins 9-3 at Nassau Coliseum.Our team as a group tonight, we werent ready to play, Sullivan said. And we can search for solutions tactically, but sometimes this game is more about will than it is about skill.Not only did the Penguins lose the game, but they potentially lost two key forwards for Fridays game.Rugged wingers Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz could both miss the game. Both are day-to-day, with Hornqvist dealing with a concussion and Kunitz dealing with a lower-body injury. Their availability wont be determined until Fridays morning skate.The Penguins also waived Tom Sestito on Wednesday in order to give themselves flexibility should they need to make a call-up or two on Friday afternoon.The Islanders have had an uncanny knack this month for running into teams coming off lopsided losses. Of New Yorks six losses in November, five have come against a team that lost its preceding game by more than two goals.Im sure theyll be well-prepared no matter what the circumstance, Tavares told Newsday following practice on Thursday.The Penguins won the first game of the season between the teams on Oct. 27, when they beat the Islander 4-2 at PPG Paints Arena. The game Friday marks the first of two trips to Barclays Center this month for Pittsburgh, which visits again Nov. 30. The season series concludes March 24 in Pittsburgh. Under new coach Dan Hawkins, the Montreal Alouettes are hoping to quickly form an identity. "It better not take very long," Hawkins said following their final practice before their regular season opener. "I think were getting there, were very close, you need those seminal moments that happen during games." With Marc Trestman, the teams mandate was simple: work hard, respect your opponent and maintain composure and discipline on the football field. Various team mantras were apparent during his tenure, including the popular "win the day." The team often took on the demeanor of their head coach on and off the field. "You know it took a little while to get used to him, just like it will take a little while for us to adjust to Hawkins," said defensive lineman John Bowman who enters his eighth season with the team. "Not to say it in a bad light, its just that trust isnt built overnight, we got to build our way to trust." Hawkins is clearly very different than the reserved and soft-spoken Trestman. General manager Jim Popp went outside the box and picked a coach whos loud, boisterous and provides sound bites by the dozen. The team will likely follow suit and the Alouettes that people have come to know, could have a much different feel to them. "Its been a work in progress," Popp said. "Each day is a new experience so whatever mistakes he makes, hell question and improve on them daily.dddddddddddd" Hitting the ground running will be key, but there will be some growing pains along the way with the offense. Quarterback Anthony Calvillo will be working with a limited playbook for the first couple games trying to learn a new system in a short amount of time. "Whats great is they havent overloaded us," Calvillo said. "They have a great amount of plays that weve really focused on and were trying to move forward from there." The offense will start the season without their top to running backs Brandon Whitaker and Jerome Messam while Chris Jennings will have the opportunity to show if what he did in a small sample size of seven games, specifically a standout game in Edmonton where he had 124 total yards, can be sustained for an entire season. Calvillo will be working with arguable the best wide receiving core in the league as Arland Bruce gets added to a mix that already includes Jamel Richardson, S.J. Green and Brandon London. There is a lot of information to digest for both the coaching staff and players early in the year, but the good news for the Alouettes is that they have a favorable schedule to start the season. "The first game is always tough, you dont know what the true personnel is going to be, the schemes, what theyre going to come out with," said offensive lineman Josh Bourke. "All we got to do is follow our rules and well be okay." ' ' '